Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin questioning the Department of Defense’s vaccine mandate after getting reports that our military troops were receiving shots that were not licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.
Johnson said that “multiple sources” have told his office that “the Department of Defense’s (DoD) mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations may not be in accordance with Secretary of Defense Austin’s August 24, 2021 memorandum” because they have not yet received “full licensure” from the FDA.
Austin announced the military vaccine mandate in August, allowing active-duty troops until Dec. 15 and Reserve and National Guard service members until June 30 to be fully vaccinated with an FDA-approved vaccine.
Johnson pointed out that currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one with non-emergency FDA approval, but multiple reports show that there currently is not a “sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution” to all of those eligible for the vaccine.
The Wisconsin Republican demanded to know how the DoD could comply with the mandatory vaccination program given the shortage of approved vaccines, and at the same time requested information on how many service members have been given non-FDA-approved vaccines by the DoD.
Johnson further requested the DoD provide him with all documents and guidelines regarding the vaccine mandate.
“The Senator’s concerns are twofold: that service members are mandated to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and regardless, service members may not be receiving the fully approved vaccine pursuant to the mandate,” a spokesperson for Johnson said.
The spokesperson said that vaccine mandates for service members and other professionals could cause “severe worker shortages,” to get worse, especially in health care settings.
“Vaccine mandates will increase these shortages and degrade our healthcare system,” the spokesperson said. “Reports on how mandates could weaken military readiness should concern every American, especially our commander-in-chief.”
